Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Taps translucent mahogany with a fine-bubbled buff head. Aroma features notes of toasted malt and caramel. Flavor offers strong caramel, cinnamon, clove, and average malty character. Mouthfeel delivers typical body and good fizz. Take this trolley!

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Heavily hyped at the hotel where I was staying - had one at the bar and it was flat - undrinkable. Decided to give it a second try at Karl Strauss in La Jolla - much better with a very nice true-to-type flavor with just a hint of extra boldness that I found refreshing, especially considering my firts encounter with it at the hotel. Everything else was OK, nothing stellar - but not bad either. Worth a try when you're in the area.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

22oz bottle -

Nothing extraordinary about this beer, but nothing to complain about either. A solid of an amber ale as you're gonna find. Aroma is a bit sweet, lightly nutty but very, very light. Flavor finds some spicy notes, light bitterness and sweetness to meld with the touch of spice. It has a bit of a mineral-like mouthfeel. Solid amber. Great price.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

a little on the sweet side, surprising since the nose had a nice hoppy & malty mix. pretty good, but not great. would need a little more balance for that. worth trying, though.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Nice full bodied brew that suprised me because of the hops. Noticeable higher IBUs- pours an attractive deep amber colour with a beige head. Aroma is faint, but taste is mildly hoppy with sweet undertones and a firm well balanced finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sampled at the Blarney Stone in Clairmont. A very nice amber ale that is packed full of hoppy and malty goodness. Really blows a lot of amber brews out of the water. Appearance is a nice dark red and flavor is smooth and hoppy. A quality brew.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

I tried this on the pier in front of the Hotel Del Coranado. Purchased at the stand at the end of the pier. Poured a medium red with a thin white head. There was agood amount of lacing coating the side of the glass. The nose was malty and sweet. The taste was sweet from start to finish. I think a little less sweetness would make this more refreshing.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Along with the Amber Lager, Red Trolley is available in 12-oz bottles, and sold in six-packs all over San Diego county. But whether you get the draught version or bottled version of this brew (no difference between the two), it's my opinion that you are wasting your time and money.

Even if one can somehow argue that Red Ale is a real style, the Red Trolley would still not be a very good example. Cloying and overally-sweet, with little to no hops to balance out the malt profile. Very tiring to drink, and one of the few Karl Strauss beers that I won't even finish. Not recommended -- there are so many other San Diego offerings that are better than this.
//TB

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Medium amber color. Medium head. Aroma is malty and a touch sweet. A medium bodied amber. Malts are nutty and a touch sweet. Hops are slightly spicy. There is a slightly harsh feel to the taste in this beer. Kind of a typical amber. Drinkable, but typical. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is harsh. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A better than average drinking beer